The document provides starter ideas for special events and activities that participating organizations can host for Connected Educator Month. It lists various event formats such as webinars, forums, Twitter chats, guided tours, and contests. It also suggests launching new communities or features, running online classes, and collaborating on projects. The goal is for a diversity of engaging events that provide opportunities for educators to participate, learn, and connect throughout the month.

1.
Connected
Educator
Month
Information
for
Potential
Participating
Organizations
One
page
overview
2
Starter
Ideas
for
Special
Events
&
Activities
3
Final
Forum
Topics
6
Broader
Set
of
Topics
8
Programming
Outline
11

2. Connected Educator Month!
Network!to!Learn,!Collaborate!to!Innovate!
!
Online(communities(and(learning(networks(are(helping(hundreds(of(thousands(of(educators(learn,(reducing(
isolation(and(providing(“justJinJtime”(access(to(knowledge(and(opportunities(for(collaboration.(However,(
many(educators(are(not(yet(participating,(and(others(aren’t(realizing(the(full(benefit.(In(many(cases,(schools,(
districts,(and(states(also(are(not(recognizing(and(rewarding(this(essential(professional(learning.(
For(these(reasons,(the(U.S.(Department(of(Education’s(Connected(Educators(initiative(is(launching(
Connected(Educator(Month(in(August(2012.(Throughout(August,(there(will(be(coordinated(opportunities(to(
participate(in(events(and(activities(in(dozens(of(online(locations(to(develop(skills(and(enhance(one’s(
personal(learning(network.((
Getting'Started(
An(intensive,(twoJday,(online(conference(on(transforming(teaching(and(learning—featuring(U.S.(
Department(of(Education(senior(officials(and(education(thought(leaders—will(kick(off(the(month.(Plans(are(
underway(for(opportunities(such(as(the(following:(
• MonthJlong(forums(regarding(key(topics,(such(as(personalizing(learning(and(the(future(of(the(
teaching(profession,(which(will(be(moderated(by(noted(education(leaders(and(include(online(
discussions,(interviews,(webinars,(chats(and(more!
• Guided(tours(and(realJtime(community(open(houses,(which(will(connect(educators(with(
communities,(answering(questions(such(as:(Who(can(help(me(solve(challenges(I’m(facing(in(my(
classroom,(and(how(do(I(best(connect(with(them?(How(can(I(work(to(advance(my(profession?(
• Contests(for(addressing(community(challenges,(developing(innovative(ideas,(and(creating(
compelling(video(demonstrations(
• Inauguration(of(a(new(series(of(open(badges(for(connected(educators(as(well(as(online(communities(
All(events(and(activities(will(be(archived(and(synthesized(into(multimedia(“proceedings”(that(will(serve(as(a(
permanent(resource(to(educators(and(community(sponsors.((
Invitation'to'Participate(
We(welcome(any(organization(that(supports(educators(learning(online(through(communities(of(practice(
and(social(networks(to(develop,(host,(and(run(events(and(activities;(to(publish(content;(and(to(help(promote(
the(month.(Participating(is(as(simple(as(publishing(the(details(of(your(event(on(the(Connected(Educators(
Month(calendar.(We(will(provide(a(starter(kit(to(help(you(plan,(and(we(will(provide(you(with(a(badge(to(put(
on(your(site.(We(also(will(be(available(to(assist(you(in(finding(other(participating(organizations(with(which(
to(collaborate(or(that(might(provide(resources(you(need,(and(we(will(actively(promote(new(participating(
organization(events(and(activities(every(day.(We(welcome(your(ideas(about(additional(ways(you(might(
participate(and(about(the(month(as(a(whole.'
For$more$information,$visit$http://connectededucators.org/cem/$or$contact$Darren$Cambridge$at$
dcambridge@air.org$or$+1>202>270>5224.'
Connected(Educators(is(funded(by(the(U.S.(Department(of(Education(Office(of(Educational(Technology(and(led(by(American(
Institutes(for(Research(in(partnership(with(the(Consortium(on(School(Networking,(Forum(One(Communications,(the(Friday(Institute(
for(Educational(Innovation(at(North(Carolina(State(University,(Grunwald(Associates(LLC,(and(the(State(Educational(Technology(
Directors(Association.(

3.
Connected
Educator
Month
Starter
Ideas
for
Participating
Organization
Special
Events
&
Activities
Event
Types/Formats
• Webinars
• Forums
(asynchronous,
bulletin-­‐board
based
discussions,
ideally
including
other
elements
like
those
below
as
well—a
diversity
of
elements
provides
more
opportunities
for
participation,
keeps
things
lively;
private
groups
can
run
forums
privately
and
then
publicly
report
out
the
results)
• Blog
serials
or
series
• Twitter
hashtag
chats
(of
varying
lengths,
all
CEM-­‐related
hashtags
starting
with
#cem12))
• Guided
tours
(self-­‐directed
&
annotated,
using
Mighty
Bell
[our
choice
for
the
event
for
guided
tours]
or
another
platform;
a
tour
of
your
own
community,
or
across
communities)
• Open
houses
(an
open
exploration
of
your
community
with
a
chat-­‐based
backchannel
so
explorers
can
ask
questions,
make
comments,
and
get
responses
in
real
time
from
you
or
community
members
as
they
explore—we’ll
be
providing
platforms
for
this;
private
groups
can
do
this
in
demo
mode
using
a
platform
like
WebEx)
• Exhibits
(collections
of
[or
links
to]
content
or
objects
around
a
topic
or
theme,
ideally
with
options
for
others
to
participate,
e.g.
by
adding
content/objects
to
the
collection
or
participating
in
related
discussions
associated
with
the
exhibit)
• Launches
(a
great
time
to
launch
a
new
community,
redesign
or
add
features
to
an
existing
one;
let
us
know
what
you’re
launching
in
August,
and
we’ll
promote
it)
• Online
classes
or
courses
(related
to
online
communities
or
networks)
• Wikis,
databases
or
directories
(these
generally
need
to
be
well-­‐seeded
to
be
effective,
with
a
strong
group
of
core
contributors)
• Collaborative
projects
(international
projects
could
be
particularly
compelling)
• (Social)
games
about
or
related
to
education
or
communities/networks
(if
you
already
have
them;
if
not,
there
are
a
number
of
platforms
now
for
creating
simple
games,
e.g.
YoYo
Games
Gamemaker,
Review
Game
Zone
[education-­‐specific],
Scratch
[education-­‐oriented],
Game
Salad
[Mac
&
mobile],
Corona
[mobile],
etc.)
1
CEM
–
Starter
Ideas
for
Participating
Organization
Special
Events
&
Activities

4. • Contests
(we
plan
to
be
running
three,
but
there’s
always
room
for
more;
we’re
also
interested
in
[and
will
provide
appropriate
recognition
to]
prize
providers
for
the
contests
we’re
running)
• Polls
&
surveys,
other
research
(with
results
that
are
publicly
reported
out)
• Regional
and
local
face-­‐to-­‐face
events
(reporting
the
results
back
out
online;
we’re
working
on
a
starter
kit
for
these
that
we’ll
be
distributing
soon)
• Blended
events
(including
those
that
leverage
mobile/geo-­‐networking
technologies)
• Badges
(we’ll
be
providing
a
basic
level
“Connected
Educator”
badge,
but
welcome
others
[existing,
created
for,
or
launched
during
the
event],
which
we’ll
be
including
in
a
badge
exhibit.
• Videos
(we
may
develop
a
video
for
the
event,
and
there
will
be
a
video-­‐based
contest
about
personal
learning
networks,
but
we
welcome
others,
especially
videos
that
show
the
impact
of
communities
and
networks
through
the
stories
of
front-­‐line
educators)
• Viral
objects
&
interactives
(small,
simple
games,
quizzes,
puzzles,
community/network
humor,
animations,
serials,
maps,
visualizations,
infographics,
etc.)
• Others?
Consider
collaborating
with
other
organizations—it
should
reduce
the
creation/development
burden
on
you,
help
insure
a
wider
audience,
and
make
your
event
easier
for
us
to
promote.
Since
one
of
the
goals
of
the
month
is
to
help
facilitate
a
more
connected
community
of
communities,
we’re
going
to
be
inclined
to
give
collaborations
particularly
heavy
promotion,
and
we
stand
ready
to
help
any
group
find
collaborators.
At
the
same
time,
we
understand
collaborations
have
unique
pitfalls,
especially
on
short
timelines,
so
we
don’t
want
to
force
this
on
anyone
for
its
own
sake,
and
will
give
plenty
of
promotion
to
solo
events
as
well.
2
CEM
–
Starter
Ideas
for
Participating
Organization
Special
Events
&
Activities

5. Event
Topics/Content
Some
ideas
for
content
coverage
in
any
of
the
formats
above…
• General
education
topics
in
a
community
or
network
context
(providing
online,
informal
means
for
educators
to
learn
and
create
knowledge
about
topics
such
as
these):
o Accountability
o Leadership
o Assessment
o Learning
Analytics
o College
and
Career
o Mobile
Readiness
o Online
Education
o Common
Core
State
o Open
Educational
Standards
Resources
o Data
o Personalization
o Digital
Divide(s)
o Professional
Development
o Digital
Transformation
o School
to
Work
o Dissemination,
Fidelity
o Special
Needs
o Dropout
Prevention
and
o Teacher
Evaluation
Recovery
(especially
in
relationship
o Facilities
to
professional
o Flipped
Classroom
development
and
teacher
o Funding
leadership)
o Games
o Teacher
Leadership
o Higher
Order
Skills
and
o Teacher
Retention
&
Learning
Support
o Home
to
School
(e.g.
BYOD,
o Twenty-­‐first
Century
Skills
parental
involvement)
o Universal
Design
for
o International
Learning
Note:
some
of
these
topics
are
potentially
going
to
be
covered
in
CEM’s
broader
forums—that’s
OK.
We’re
not
going
to
do
all
the
potential
forum
topics,
and
even
in
the
case
of
the
forum
topics
that
get
chosen,
we
certainly
hope
that
others
will
host
related
events
focused
on
specific
sub-­‐topics
(the
forums
are
broad
in
coverage),
promotion
of
which
we’ll
do
both
from
within
the
forums
and
at
large.
We
particularly
want
to
encourage
events
focused
on
these
topics
from
the
perspective
of
a
specific
education
groups—e.g.
history
teachers,
school
counselors,
district
professional
development
directors—since
one
of
the
programmatic
goals
of
CEM
is
to
be
able
to
say
to
every
group
of
educators
“we
have
something
for
3
CEM
–
Starter
Ideas
for
Participating
Organization
Special
Events
&
Activities

6. educators
just
like
you,”
to
help
facilitate
their
connection
to
online
communities
and
networks.
• Community/network-­‐specific
topics
in
an
educational
context
o Architecture
&Building
(e.g.
o Innovation(s)
steps
to
create
a
new
o International
community)
o Management
&Moderation
o Communities
for
educators
(e.g.
top-­‐down
vs.
bottom
with
a
particular
up)
specialization
(e.g.
“Online
o Metrics
&
Evaluation
Communities
for/and
o Mobile
(some
overlap
with
History
geo-­‐networking)
Educators/Education”)
o Online
vs./and
Face-­‐to-­‐Face
o Communities
vs./and
o New
vs./and
Experienced
Networks
Users
o Consumer
vs./and
o Participation
Education-­‐Specific
o Personal
vs./and
o Collaboration
&
Curation
Professional
o Constellations
vs./and
Sites
o Public
vs./and
Private
o Dissemination
&
Diversity
o Recruitment
(Connected
Communities)
o Recognition
and
support
o Educator
Differences
for
participants
(e.g.,
(communities
for
educators
providing
time
during
the
vs.
other
groups)
school
day,
offering
CEUs)
o Efficiency
&
Organization
o Roles
(keeping
communities
o Scalability
usable
as
they
grow)
o Social
Games
o Features
(key
features,
o Social
Objects
order
to
add,
etc.)
o Social
Media
Strategy
o Getting
Started
o Sustainability
o Geo-­‐Networking
o Technologies
(which
ones
o Harmony
vs./and
Debate
to
use)
o Horizontal
vs./and
Vertical
o Time
o Trust
A
key
to
success
for
these
types
of
events
will
be
to
position
them
so
that
their
content
is
of
interest
to
both
education/community
leaders
AND
front-­‐line
practitioners,
who
may
not
be
as
invested
in
communities
or
networks.
See
“Possible
Forum
Topics”
for
examples
of
this.
4
CEM
–
Starter
Ideas
for
Participating
Organization
Special
Events
&
Activities

7.
Connected
Educator
Month
Final
Forum
Topics
Forums
will
be
primarily
asynchronous
and
discussion
board-­‐based,
but
will
also
open
and
close
with
real-­‐time
events
as
well
as
have
other
elements
determined
by
the
forum
moderators,
who
include
Sheryl
Nussbaum-­‐Beach,
Steve
Hargadon,
and
Darren
Cambridge.
• Professional
Learning
in
the
Learning
Profession
Right
Now:
What
and
where
are
the
best
(social)
opportunities
for
educators
to
work
on
and
learn
for
their
practice
in
the
coming
year?
What
steps
should
every
educator
consider
taking
to
become
more
connected,
and
what
are
the
key
resources
that
can
help?
The
Big
Picture:
In
what
kinds
of
learning
do
teachers
(and
other
educators)
need
to
be
engaged
in
the
21st
century,
and
how
will
technology
help?
What
are
the
key
methodological
and
content
trends
in
the
classroom
(e.g.,
flipped
classrooms,
core
standards)
with
which
technology
(in
general)
and
communities
or
networks
(specifically)
can
impact
and
help?
• It’s
Personal
Right
Now:
What
practical
steps
can
educators
take
to
personalize
learning
for
their
students
in
2012–13,
and
how
can
technology
facilitate
this?
The
Big
Picture:
How
close
are
we
to
being
able
to
realize
the
dream
of
personalized,
differentiated,
passion-­‐based
learning
for
educators
and
students,
and
what
still
has
to
happen
to
make
this
fully
real?
• Beyond
Top-­‐Down
Right
Now:
What
are
the
ways
educators
can
use
networks
and
online
communities
to
effect
change
in
their
school,
their
district,
and
their
profession
in
the
coming
school
year
and
beyond?
The
Big
Picture:
How
can
grassroots
networks
and
distributed
leadership
shape
the
future
of
education?
How
can
decision
makers
at
all
levels
be
informed
by
and
be
responsive
to
expertise
these
networks
enact?

8.
• Knocking
On
the
Door
Right
Now:
How
can
educators
best
take
advantage
of
big
technological
trends
such
as
mobile
and
gaming
in
their
classrooms
this
year?
The
Big
Picture:
What
innovations
and
technologies
being
explored
and
leveraged
outside
education
today
have
the
greatest
potential
to
be
repurposed
or
extended
to
create
educational
value?
• The
First
Six
Weeks
Right
Now:
What
are
the
key
to-­‐dos
to
get
2012–13
off
to
a
great
start
in
the
classroom,
and
how
can
educators
stay
on
top
of
and
successfully
manage
all
the
competing
demands
involved?
How
can
teachers
use
online
communities
and
networks
to
help
with
this
most
critical
period
of
the
new
school
year
we’re
all
planning
for?
The
Big
Picture:
What
should
communities
and
networks
themselves
be
doing
during
this
period?
How
can
communities
and
networks
best
adapt
to
changing
needs
of
educators
throughout
the
year?

9.
Connected
Educator
Month
Broader
Set
of
Topics
• Professional
Learning
in
the
Learning
Profession
Right
Now:
What
and
where
are
the
best
(social)
opportunities
for
educators
to
work
on
and
learn
for
their
practice
in
the
coming
year?
The
Big
Picture:
In
what
kinds
of
learning
do
teachers
(and
other
educators)
need
to
be
engaged
in
the
21st
century,
and
how
will
technology
help?
What
are
the
key
methodological
and
content
trends
in
the
classroom
(e.g.,
flipped
classrooms,
core
standards)
with
which
technology
(in
general)
and
communities
or
networks
(specifically)
can
impact
and
help?
• It’s
Personal
Right
Now:
What
practical
steps
can
educators
take
to
personalize
learning
for
their
students
in
2012–13,
and
how
can
technology
facilitate
this?
The
Big
Picture:
How
close
are
we
to
being
able
to
realize
the
dream
of
personalized,
differentiated,
passion-­‐based
learning
for
educators
and
students,
and
what
still
has
to
happen
to
make
this
fully
real?
• Online
Education
Right
Now:
What
are
the
key
trends
in
online
education,
and
what
can
educators
look
to
do
now,
regardless
of
their
school’s
infrastructure
or
the
installed
base
of
the
communities
they
serve?
How
can
teachers
better
overcome
the
technology
limitations
they
still
face—their
own,
their
schools’,
and
their
communities’—to
better
realize
the
promise
of
online
education?
The
Big
Picture:
How
much—and
what
aspects—of
students’
education
can
and
should
be
taking
place
online
today
instead
of
or
in
addition
to
taking
place
in
the
classroom?
How
can
we
make
decisions
about
online
education
grounded
in
evidence
of
impact?
• Beyond
Top-­‐Down
Right
Now:
What
are
the
ways
educators
can
use
networks
and
online
communities
to
effect
change
in
their
school,
their
district,
and
their
profession
in
the
coming
school
year
and
beyond?

10. The
Big
Picture:
How
can
grassroots
networks
and
distributed
leadership
shape
the
future
of
education?
How
can
decision
makers
at
all
levels
be
informed
by
and
be
responsive
to
expertise
these
networks
enact?
• Ships
In
the
Night
Right
Now:
What
can
educators
do
as
individuals
and
groups
to
help
create
a
more
thoroughly
connected
profession?
The
Big
Picture:
How
can
technology
help
break
down
silos
in
education
and
better
ensure
information
gets
where
it
needs
to
go
and
exchanges
that
need
to
take
place
actually
happen?
What
groups
in
education
need
to
be
talking
more
to
each
other
than
they
do
today?
• Giving
Credit
Where
Credit
Is
Due
Right
Now:
What
can
educators
do
themselves
to
get
more
support
and
recognition?
The
Big
Picture:
How
should
educators’
investment
in
learning
to
improve
their
performance
and
enrich
the
profession
be
supported,
incentivized,
documented,
and
recognized?
What
schools
and
districts
are
providing
model
levels
of
support,
and
how
can
their
approaches
be
better
disseminated
and
applied?
What
does
the
future
hold
for
current
informal
recognition
systems
like
badges?
• Harnessing
the
Data
Right
Now:
How
can
educators
take
better
advantage
of
the
vast
volumes
of
student
data
being
generated
today
and
share
what
they
are
learning?
How
can
educators
better
find
what
they
need
and
find
what
is
really
working?
The
Big
Picture:
What
can
we
learn
about
professional
learning
and
practice
from
the
volume
of
online
learning
activities
in
which
students
and
educators
are
engaged?
How
will
the
Big
Data
movement
play
out
in
education,
and
what
does
the
future
of
data
analytics
hold?
• Open
for
Learning
Right
Now:
How
can
teachers
find
and
evaluate
the
quality
of
open
education
resources
appropriate
to
their
students?
What
are
the
top
open
resources
every
teacher
should
know
about
and
consider
using?
The
Big
Picture:
How
are
open
education
resources
being
used
today,
and
what
does
the
future
hold?
How
can
and
should
educators
be
participating
in
this
movement?
How
can
the
profession
best
deal
with
copyright
and
other
intellectual
property
issues
regarding
what
gets
created
and
used?

11. • By
All
Means
Necessary
Right
Now:
Where
can
teachers
find
the
best
examples
of
blended
learning,
and
how
can
these
examples
be
adapted
for
reuse
this
year?
The
Big
Picture:
What
is
the
right
mix
of
online
and
face-­‐to-­‐face
social
learning
approaches
to
help
educators
improve
their
performance
and
enhance
their
profession?
How
can
educators
better
get
the
best
of
both
worlds?
• The
Sun
Never
Goes
Down
Right
Now:
What
does
it
mean
to
have
an
international
practice
here
at
home,
in
the
day-­‐to-­‐day
teaching
and
learning
in
U.S.
classrooms?
The
Big
Picture:
How
are
educators
beyond
the
United
States
learning
online?
How
can
we
learn
from
their
examples,
and
what
opportunities
for
collaboration
exist?
• Knocking
On
the
Door
Right
Now:
How
can
educators
best
take
advantage
of
big
technological
trends
such
as
mobile
and
gaming
in
their
classrooms
this
year?
The
Big
Picture:
What
innovations
and
technologies
being
explored
and
leveraged
outside
education
today
have
the
greatest
potential
to
be
repurposed
or
extended
to
create
educational
value?
• Getting
More
Connected
Right
Now:
What
steps
should
every
educator
consider
taking
to
become
more
connected,
and
what
are
the
key
resources
that
can
help?
The
Big
Picture:
What
does
it
mean
to
be
a
connected
educator
today?
What’s
it
going
to
take
for
all
educators
to
become
connected?
What
are
the
barriers,
and
how
can
we
knock
them
down?
• The
First
Six
Weeks
Right
Now:
What
are
the
key
to-­‐dos
to
get
2012–13
off
to
a
great
start
in
the
classroom,
and
how
can
educators
stay
on
top
of
and
successfully
manage
all
the
competing
demands
involved?
How
can
teachers
use
online
communities
and
networks
to
help
with
this
most
critical
period
of
the
new
school
year
we’re
all
planning
for?
The
Big
Picture:
What
should
communities
and
networks
themselves
be
doing
during
this
period?
How
can
communities
and
networks
best
adapt
to
changing
needs
of
educators
throughout
the
year?

12.
Connected
Educator
Month
Programming
Outline
Because
of
the
online,
often
experimental,
and
community-­‐based
nature
of
this
event
(i.e.,
one
in
which
the
broader
community
will
have
significant
input
into
event
activities),
planned
programming
will
evolve
before
and
even
during
the
event
itself.
A
48
Hour
Kick-­‐Off
Event
• To
be
held
August
1–2
• Primarily,
but
not
exclusively,
synchronous
subevents
in
time
slots
that
are
U.S.timezonefriendly
 Thematically,a
microcosm
of
the
month
as
a
whole,
though
some
activities
will
occur
only
during
the
kick-­‐off,
and
some
will
occur
only
at
other
timesduring
the
month
• Featuring
senior
U.S.
Department
of
Education
officials
and
20–25
guest
speakers
and
panelists
from
around
the
world
• Broad
topic:“Connected
Education:
Transforming
Teaching
and
Learning”
• Moderated
by
Steve
Hargadon
of
Classroom
2.0,
loosely
affiliated
with
the
Learning
2.0
conference
taking
place
later
in
the
month
Five
Month-­‐Long
Forums
• Each
forum
kicks
off
with
a
synchronous
event.
 A
variety
of
platforms
will
be
used
(WebEx,
Adobe
Connect,
Blackboard
Collaborate,
Google+
Hangouts,
Twitter).
The
choices
for
each
forum
will
depend
on
the
topics
and
moderators.Forum
length
also
may
depend
on
these
factors.
• An
asynchronous
discussion
follows
for
the
course
of
the
month.
 The
discussion
is
supported
and
stimulated
by
a
community-­‐generated
collection
of
links
and
readings;
interviews;
polls;
content
cocreation
and
remixing
applications;
and
other
materials
and
activities,
as
determined
by
topic
andmoderator(s).
 Each
forum
also
will
have
its
own
hashtag
for
use
throughout
the
month,
both
within
the
forum
and
withparticipating
organizations
hosting
activities
on
the
same
themes.
1
Connected
Educator
Month
–
Programming
Outline

13. • Each
forum
ends
with
a
synchronous
event
to
generate
takeaways,
lessons,
and
action
items.
• Each
forum’s
discussion
and
activities
will
be
seeded
by
a
prerecruited
core
group
or
panel
consisting
of
education
celebrities
and
front-­‐line
practitioners,
with
the
support
of
a
paid,
experienced
online
community
moderator,
though
discussion
will
be
open
to
all.
• Forum
topics
will
be
chosen
in
June
and
July
via
a
combination
of
the
following:
 Discussions
with
proposed
moderators
 Discussions
in
planning
calls
and
webinars
with
event
participating
organizations
 Online
polling
of
the
broader
community
on
the
Connected
Educator
Month
pageor
via
discussion
thread
on
the
Connected
Educator
Month
page
or
Education
Community
Manager’s
Network
• We
will
present
a
list
of
potential
topic
choices
to
all
moderators,
participating
organizations,
and
the
broader
community
to
kick
off
and
help
guide
this
decision-­‐making
process;
but
we
will
be
clearly
open
to
other
suggestions.
 At
least
one
additional
topic
may
be
chosen
as
an
outgrowth
of
the
online
conference
kick-­‐off
event
for
the
month.
• Forum
topics
are
available
in
a
separate
document.
An
Event
Calendar,
Hashtag,
and
Heat
Map
of
Activity
• A
Connected
Educator
Month
calendar
will
be
launched
when
the
event
is
announced.
Anyone
can
submit
events
for
inclusion
now
using
the
form
on
the
Connected
Educator
Month
webpage.
 All
prospective
participating
organizations
and
communities
in
the
directory
will
be
contacted
directly
about
adding
to
the
calendar.
 Bimonthly
planning
calls
or
webinars
(open
to
all
participating
organizations),
a
participating
organization
support
kit,
and
direct
support
for
high-­‐intensity
participating
organizations
also
will
help
drive
calendar
content.
• We
will
categorize
events
in
several
facets,
enabling
educators
to
find
events
most
relevant
to
them.
• The
calendar
will
be
used
to
select
events
to
promote
through
Connected
Educators;
daily
editions
of
its
newsletter;
and
its
LinkedIn,
Facebook,
and
Twitter
satellites
and
outposts.
• The
calendar
uses
the
SCHED
service,
embedded
within
ConnectedEducators.org.
Participants
also
will
be
able
to
access
the
calendar
via
the
free
SCHED
mobile
app.
2
Connected
Educator
Month—Programming
Outline

14. • A
#ce12
hashtag
for
discussion
of
Connected
Educator
Month
will
be
promoted
throughout
the
run-­‐up
to
the
event,
beginning
with
the
event
announcement
(other
hashtags
related
to
Connected
Educator
Month
also
will
start
with
#cem12).
• For
the
month
itself,
the
calendar
will
be
complemented
by
a
map
that
helps
participants
see
where
the
action
is
and
find
events
particularly
well
suited
to
their
needs.
Robust
Promotion
Through
Connected
Educators
and
Other
Means
• Pre-­‐event
promotion
at
selected
real-­‐world
events
(International
Society
for
Technology
in
Education,
National
Education
Association,
Learning
Forward)
• Pre-­‐event
and
in-­‐event
promotion
via
general
and
educational
press
 With
the
assistance
of
a
public
relations
firm,
which
will
also
help
with
real-­‐world
event
promotion
• High-­‐frequency
promotion
through
Connected
Educators
 A
dedicated
Connected
Educator
Month
page,
launched
in
conjunction
with
the
May
event
announcement;
dedicated
regions
of
Connected
Educators
home
page
to
follow
 Additional
issues
of
the
site
newsletter
each
week
during
the
event
 Daily
in-­‐event
promotion
changes
on
the
site
(including
a
Community
of
the
Day
and
selected
day’s
events)
 Significant
increases
in
frequency
of
promotion
in
LinkedIn
group,
Facebook
group,
and
#edcocp
• Increased
promotion
through
broader
social
media
 Promotional
video
posted
to
YouTube
 Expansion
of
LinkedIn
outposts
 Significantly
more
frequent
promotions
to
outposts
 Substantial
increase
in
tweets
to
hashtags
not
specific
to
the
project
 Cultivation
of
10–20
key
educational
bloggers;
concerted
efforts
to
place
multiple
stories
with
each
 Promotion
via
Connected
Educator
Month
participating
organizations,
including
efforts
to
get
Connected
Educator
Month
participating
organizations
to
promote
each
others’
events,
in
addition
to
their
own
and
Connected
Educator
Month
generally
o Modeling
connected
communities
in
the
process
 Placement
of
Facebook
and/or
Google
ads
• Special
efforts
to
gain
promotion
at
the
state
and
district
levels
 State-­‐level
promotion
via
State
Educational
Technology
Directors
Association
3
Connected
Educator
Month—Programming
Outline

15.  District-­‐level
promotion
via
Consortium
for
School
Networking
 Kit
to
be
developed
to
support
and
encourage
regional
and
local
face-­‐to-­‐face
events
as
part
of
the
month
Connected
Educator
and
Connected
Community
Badges,
Starter
Kit
and
Help
Desk,
Book
Club
• Connected
Educator
Badges
 Criteria
to
be
determined
in
consultation
with
forum
moderators
and
relevant
members
of
the
MacArthur/Mozilla
Open
Badge
community
 Visual
design
by
American
Institutes
for
Research,
published
to
Open
Badges
Infrastructure
via
P2PU
and
other
means
 Complemented
by
the
following:
o A
badge
collection—a
side-­‐by-­‐side
list
and
description
of
other
badges
available
to
educators
that
can
be
used
to
further
demonstrate
that
one
is
a
connected
educator
(e.g.,
via
National
Science
Teachers
Association,
edWeb,
Powerful
Learning
Practice,
P2PU)
with
associated
links;any
participating
organizationor
community
can
submit
a
badge
for
inclusion
o A
seeded
and
open
discussion
of
potential
additional
connected
educator
badges
and
levels,
which
could
lead
to
the
creation
of
additional
badges
and
levels,
either
by
the
project
or
by
participating
organizations
• Connected
Community
Badge
 Awarded
by
the
Connected
Educators
project
 Criteria
will
be
determined
in
collaboration
with
Connected
Educators
Technical
Working
Group
members,
community
leaders,
and
relevant
members
of
the
MacArthur/Mozilla
Open
Badge
community
 Criteria
may
include
some
of
the
following:
o Substantial,
robust
public
communities
o Programs
to
move
private
community
learnings
into
the
public
sphere
o Robust
sharing
functionality,
incentives
for
sharing,
use
of
sharing
metrics
o Robust
social
media
strategy
o Permanent
home
page
links
to
other
communities
(e.g.,
blogrolls)
o Frequent
promotion
of
events
or
content
on
other
communities
via
the
home
page
and/or
newsletters
o Frequent
referencing
(and
linking
out)
to
content
in
other
communities
through
site’s
own
content
4
Connected
Educator
Month—Programming
Outline

16. o Including
other
communities’
content
in
site
search
results
o Syndicating
content
and/or
services
to
other
communities
o Integrating
participating
organizations
content
and/or
services
seamlessly
on
an
ongoing
basis
o Cultivating
and
supporting
influencers
who
carry
content
from
community
to
community,
motivating
and
incentivizing
them
to
do
so
o Joint
or
collaborative
events
across
communities
o Joint
ventures
with
other
communities
o Participation
in
community
aggregations
and
portals
(the
more
integrated,
the
better)
o Participation
(at
various
levels)
in
Connected
Educator
Month
o Bringing
groups
together
(that
typically
are
in
silos)
o Sharing
functional
elements
(e.g.,
profiles,
badges,
e-­‐mail
sign-­‐ups)
across
and
with
other
communities
o Strong
dissemination
metrics
o Sharing
of
best
practices
and
evidence
of
value
creation
for
members
• Additional
basic
support
for
educators
will
be
provided
by
the
following:
 A
connected
educator
starter
kit
developed
in
collaboration
with
Sheryl
Nussbaum-­‐Beach,
likely
to
take
a
“31
days”
approach,
in
which
educators
are
provided
with
a
simple
step
or
activity
to
get
more
connected
every
day.
 A
help
desk
(built
into
the
Connected
Educators
website
using
UserVoice,
operation
modeled
on
homework
help
services)
 A
set
of
Connected
Educator
Book
Club
sessions
(on
The
Connected
Educator)
that
will
be
timed
to
start
at
the
beginning
of
the
month
Cross-­‐Community
Guided
Tours
and
Community
Open
Houses
• We
will
create
four
initial
cross-­‐community
guided
tours
users
can
explore
at
their
own
pace;
the
tours
will
be
based
on
the
proven
benefits
of
online
communities
identified
in
Connect
and
Inspire.
• Specifically,
we’ll
assemble
tours
that
showcase
online
communities
and
networks
that
achieve
the
following:
 Help
Me
Solve
Challenges
I’m
Facing
in
My
Classroom
Today
(Tour
1)
 Help
Me
Share
and
Create
Materials
With
Others(Tour
2)
 Help
Me
Connect
With
Experts
and
Other
Educators
Like
Me
(Tour
3)
 Help
Me
Shape
What
My
Profession
Looks
Like
in
the
Future
(Tour
4)
5
Connected
Educator
Month—Programming
Outline

17. • In
consultation
with
Technical
Working
Group
members,
we
will
select
communities
to
feature
as
tour
stops
and
invite
the
community
managers
to
contribute
the
featured
content.
• Users
also
may
submit
additional
tour
stops
for
consideration.
• We
will
also
invite
community
leaders
and
other
users
to
suggest
additional
themes
they
are
willing
to
help
us
build
out.
 And
we’ll
allow
the
users
to
send
us
links
to
tours
they
create
for
potential
inclusion
on
the
list
(including
single-­‐community
tours).
 We
will
encourage
communities
or
networks
to
host
their
own
synchronous
guided
tours
led
by
members
who
share
how
the
community
or
network
is
valuable
to
them,
and
we
will
promote
these
as
well.
• During
the
event,
promoted
communities
of
the
day
will
be
aggregated
into
weekly
tours
as
well,
using
material
submitted
by
the
featured
communities’
managers.
• Community
open
houses
will
be
promoted
opportunities
for
users
to
explore
specific
communities
on
their
own
and
to
get
back-­‐channel
answers
in
realtime
about
what
they
are
seeing
from
leaders
of
the
community.
 We
will
host
the
open
houses,
supplying
a
simple
real-­‐time
(chat)
frame
that
will
reside
side
by
side
with
the
community
as
it
is
being
explored.
 At
any
time
while
exploring,
users
will
be
able
to
type
comments
and
questions
into
the
chat
window,
which
leaders
of
the
community
can
read
and
respond
to;
users
also
will
be
able
to
see
what
comments
and
questions
other
users
are
asking.
Connected
Educator
Month
Contests
• Contests
are
designed
to
create
excitement,
demonstrate
that
we
value
user-­‐created
content,
support
specific
project
goals,
and
help
build
out
specific
project
offerings
in
support
of
those
goals.
• Rules
and
judging
criteria
will
be
similar
across
contests,
though
some
elements
of
judging
rubrics
will
be
contestspecific.
 It
is
expected
that
there
will
be
both
juried
and
people’s
choice
winners.
 The
origin
and
nature
of
prizes
areto
be
determined.
 Participating
organizations
will
run
and
judge
the
contests.
• Community
Idea/Innovation
of
the
Year
 Supports
the
project’s
commitment
to
innovation,
build
out
of
IdeaScale-­‐
based
innovation
exchange
that
broadens
the
base
of
participation
in
innovations
by
making
participation
simpler
and
easier
o Allows
participation
by
posting
short
ideas
and
voting
on
them,
rather
than
by
only
creating
blog
posts
and
writing
comments
6
Connected
Educator
Month—Programming
Outline

18.  Contest
is
simple—users
post
brief
(one
to
two
paragraphs)
ideas
for
innovations,
and
other
users
vote
on
the
ideas;
brevity
of
ideas
keeps
judging
manageable
 Innovation
Exchange
infrastructure,
using
IdeaScale,
already
integrated
into
ConnectedEducators.org.
 Whatever
the
prizes
are,
we
commit
to
make
efforts
to
advance
winning
ideas
in
some
fashionto
be
determined
• Community
Cookbook
Bake-­‐Off
 Supports
the
project’s
commitment
to
identifying
and
sharing
best
practices
in
an
accessible
form
and
to
involving
the
community
in
this
determination,in
addition
to
supporting
the
build-­‐out
of
the
Community
Cookbook
 Contest
is
simple
in
many
of
the
same
ways
as
the
Community
Idea
contest—
users
post
brief
recipes
to
the
cookbook,
and
other
users
vote
on
the
recipes;
recipe
brevity
keeps
judging
manageable
 Cookbook
is
expected
to
launch
before
Connected
Educator
Month,
with
all
the
functionality
needed
for
the
contest
baked
in
as
part
of
its
normal
operation
• Personal
Learning
Network
Video
Contest
 Supports
our
commitment
to
the
value
of
personal
learning
networks
and
the
need
to
better
understand
informal
educator
online
professional
learning
from
an
individual
perspective;
helps
us
build
out
the
YouTube/video
component
of
our
social
media
strategy
 Users
submit
videos
of
or
about
their
personal
learning
networks
and
how
they
are
using
the
networks
 Contest
administration
and
judging
will
be
led
by
Sheryl
Nussbaum-­‐Beach,
a
professional
learning
networkexpert
Archiving,
Proceedings,
and
Evaluation
• We
will
work
with
Connected
Educator
Month
participating
organizations
and
other
participants
to
identify
and
collect
relevant
materials
generated
during
Connected
Educator
Month.
• Items
will
be
categories
using
a
predetermined
nomenclature,
adapted
as
necessary.
• It
will
be
easy
for
users
to
browse
or
search
the
archives
on
ConnectedEducators.org.
• We
will
select
a
subset
of
artifacts
from
the
archives
to
generate
multimedia
proceedings
for
the
event.
• We
will
develop
a
narrative
arc
and
sequence
for
the
artifacts,
along
with
associated
annotations.
• The
proceedings
will
be
built
using
a
platform
such
as
VoiceThread
or
Storify.
7
Connected
Educator
Month—Programming
Outline

19. • After
the
event,
we
will
evaluate
event
success
according
to
the
metrics
established
in
the
goals
and
objectives
section
of
the
Connected
Educator
Month
Work
Plan,
and
we
will
invite
participants
to
complete
a
brief
online
evaluation
form.
8
Connected
Educator
Month—Programming
Outline